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POLYMORPHISM

4/6/2024 OOP- CH-4- Polymorphism

Contents
1. Introduction
2. Demonstrating polymorphism concepts with super
classes and subclasses
3. Abstract classes and methods
4. Multiple inheritance and interfaces

4/6/2024
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Demonstrating polymorphism concepts with super
classes and subclasses
3. Abstract classes and methods
4. Multiple inheritance and interfaces

4/6/2024
 Introduction
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 Polymorphism in Java is the ability of an object to

take many forms.
 Itallows us to perform the same action in many
different ways.
 Polymorphism occurs when there is inheritance,
i.e. there are many classes that are related to each
other.
 Inheritance is a powerful feature in Java. Inheritance
lets one class acquire the properties and attributes of
another class.

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 Polymorphism in java allows us to use these

inherited properties to perform different tasks.
 Thus, allowing us to achieve the same action in many
different ways.
 There are two types of polymorphism in java:
 Compile-time polymorphism and
 Runtime polymorphism.

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 Compile-time polymorphism
 Itis also known as Static Polymorphism.
 In this process, the call to the method is resolved at
compile-time.
 Compile-Time polymorphism is achieved
through Method Overloading.
◼ This type of polymorphism can also be achieved
through Operator Overloading. However, Java does not
support Operator Overloading.

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 Method Overloading is when a class has multiple

methods with the same name, but the number, types
and order of parameters and the return type of the
methods are different.
 Java allows the user freedom to use the same name for
various functions as long as it can distinguish between
them by the type and number of parameters.

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class Test {
public static void main(String args[]) {
myPrint(5);
myPrint(5.0);
}
static void myPrint(int i) {
System.out.println("int i = " + i);
}
static void myPrint(double d) {
// same name, different parameters
System.out.println("double d = " + d);
}
}
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 Runtime polymorphism
 Itis also known as Dynamic Binding or Dynamic
Method Dispatch.
 In this process, the call to an overridden method is
resolved dynamically at runtime rather than at compile-
time.
 Runtime polymorphism is achieved through Method
Overriding.

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 Method Overriding is done when a child or a subclass

has a method with the same name, parameters and
return type as the parent or the superclass, then that
function overrides the function in the superclass.
◼ In simpler terms, if the subclass provides its definition to a
method already present in the superclass, then that function
in the base class is said to be overridden.
 It
should be noted that runtime polymorphism can only
be achieved through methods and not data
members.

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class Animal {
public static void main(String args[]) {
Animal animal = new Animal();
Dog dog = new Dog();
animal.print();
dog.print();
}
void print() {
System.out.println("Superclass Animal");
}
}
public class Dog extends Animal {
void print() {
System.out.println("Subclass Dog");
}
}
4/6/2024
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Demonstrating polymorphism concepts with super
classes and subclasses
3. Abstract classes and methods
4. Multiple inheritance and interfaces

4/6/2024
 Inheritance v/s Polymorphism
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 Inheritance allows programs to model relationships

in the real world
 Ifthe program follows the model it may be easier to
write
 Inheritance allows code reuse
◼ Complete programs faster (especially large programs)
 Polymorphism allows code reuse in another way.
 Inheritance and polymorphism allow programmers
to create generic algorithms.

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 Demonstrating polymorphic behavior
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 A superclass object cannot be treated as a subclass object,

because a superclass object is not an object of any of its
subclasses.
 The is-a relationship applies only up the hierarchy from a
subclass to its direct (and indirect) super classes, and not down
the hierarchy.
 The Java compiler does allow the assignment of a superclass
reference to a subclass variable if you explicitly cast the
superclass reference to the subclass type
 A technique known as downcasting that enables a program to
invoke subclass methods that are not in the superclass.

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 Up-casting v/s Down-casting
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 …
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 Polymorphism is the concept of allowing a

reference to a subclass to be used in a place where
a reference to its parent’s class would be
acceptable.
 An easy and generic example is as follows:
Vehicle v = new Car();
Superclass Subclass

 Since every class extends Object, any object can

be stored in an Object variable.

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 In the bird and parrot example, consider a bird method:

static void printCall(Bird bird) {
System.out.println(bird.call);
} Bird b = new Parrot();
printBirdCall(b)
Parrot p = new Parrot();
printBirdCall(p)

 Generic: printBirdCall expects a Bird, but any type of

bird is OK.
 Cannot write Parrot p = new Bird(); //there’s not enough info!
 However, without casting, b can only use bird methods.

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Casting and instanceof
 If we know that b is a Parrot, we can cast it
and use Parrot methods:
((Parrot)b).speak()
 At runtime, if b is just a Bird, the JVM will throw
a ClassCastException.
 To test this, use instanceof:
if (b instanceof Parrot) {
((Parrot)b).speak()) }
Contents
1. Introduction
2. Demonstrating polymorphism concepts with super
classes and subclasses
3. Abstract classes and methods
4. Multiple inheritance and interfaces

4/6/2024
 Abstract class
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 Abstract classes are classes with a generic concept,

not related to a specific class.
 Abstract classes define partial behavior and leave the
rest for the subclasses to provide.
 A class that is declared with the reserved word
abstract in its heading
 An abstract class can contain instance variables,
constructors, finalizers, and non-abstract methods
 An abstract class can contain abstract methods
◼ Abstract method contains no implementation, i.e. no body.

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 If a class contains an abstract method, the class must

be declared abstract
 You cannot instantiate an object of an abstract class
type; can only declare a reference variable of an
abstract class type
 You can instantiate an object of a subclass of an
abstract class, but only if the subclass gives the
definitions of all the abstract methods of the superclass
 If the subclasses does not override the abstract methods
of the abstract class, then it is mandatory for the
subclasses to tag itself as abstract.
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public abstract class AbstractClassExample

{
protected int x;
public abstract void print();

public void setX(int a)

{
x = a;
}

public AbstractClassExample()
{
x = 0;
}
} 4/6/2024
 Abstract Method
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 A method that has only the heading with no body

 Must be implemented in a subclass
 Must be declared abstract
public double abstract area();
public void abstract print();
 Why create abstract methods?
 To force same name and signature pattern in all the
subclasses
◼ Subclasses should not use their own naming patterns
 They should have the flexibility to code these methods with
their own specific requirements.

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Contents
1. Introduction
2. Demonstrating polymorphism concepts with super
classes and subclasses
3. Abstract classes and methods
4. Multiple inheritance and interfaces

4/6/2024
 Interface
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 An interface is a blueprint of a class.

 It has static constants and abstract methods.
 The interface in Java is a mechanism to
achieve abstraction.
 There can be only abstract methods in the Java interface,
not method body.
 Interface fields are public, static and final by default, and
the methods are public and abstract.
 It is used to achieve abstraction and
multiple inheritance in Java.
 In other words, you can say that interfaces can have
abstract methods and variables. It cannot have a method
body.
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 It cannot be instantiated just like the abstract class.

 Since Java 8, we can have default and static
methods in an interface.
 Since Java 9, we can have private methods in an
interface.
 Why use Java Interface?
 It is used to achieve abstraction.
 By interface, we can support the functionality of
multiple inheritance.
 It can be used to achieve loose coupling.

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 How to declare an interface?

 An interface is declared by using the interface keyword.
 It provides total abstraction; means all the methods in an
interface are declared with the empty body, and all the
fields are public, static and final by default.
 A class that implements an interface must implement all the
methods declared in the interface.
 Syntax:
interface <interface_name>{
// declare constant fields
// declare methods that abstract by default.
}
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 The relationship between classes and interfaces

 As shown in the figure given below, a class extends
another class, an interface extends another interface,
but a class implements an interface

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 Multiple inheritance in Java by interface

 Ifa class implements multiple interfaces, or an interface
extends multiple interfaces, it is known as multiple
inheritance.

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Questions?
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Thank You
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